947 

Pi«bW3 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


NATHANIEL  PAINE. 


THE 


LIBRARY 


OF 


NATHANIEL  PAINE. 


BY   S.  W.  WEBB. 


FBOM   THE   WOBCE8TEB   HOMK   JOUBNAL. 


WORCESTER,     MASS. 
1885. 


"And  books  we  know 

As  a  substantial  world,  both  pure  and  good; 
Round  these  with  tendrils  strong  as  flesh  and 

blood, 
Our  pastime  and  our  happiness  will  grow." 


IN  these  days  of  fine  public  libraries, 
easily  accessible,  the  interest  in  gather- 
ing together  a  large  private  library 
has  somewhat  abated.  In  these  public 
libraries  are  books  covering  the  whole 
field  of  literature  from  books  of  scholar- 
ly research  to  the  latest  novel.  Very 
naturally  therefore  one  asks  himself, 
why  go  to  the  expense  of  getting  a  fine 
private  library,  when  one  has  free  ac- 
cess to  all  the  books  of  our  public  libra- 
ries ?  But  while  the  public  library  fills  a 
place,  and  a  very  large  one,  in  the  com- 
munity, it  can  never  take  the  place 
wholly  of  the  private  library.  For,  not 
only  does  one  wish  certain  useful  books 
always  ready  to  his  hand,  but  every  real 
lover  of  books  has  certain  indiosyncra- 
sies,  or  favorite  lines  of  study  which  de- 


termine  the  kind  of  books  which  he  de- 
lights to  have  about  him,  so  that  he  gets 
hold  of  many  books  not  to  be  found  in 
any  general  library.  Indeed,  many  of 
the  books- in  private  libraries  can  not  be 
found  in  any  other  library,  public  or 
private,  having  been  so  modified  and  ex- 
tended by  the  introduction  of  illustra- 
tions, and  various  addenda,  as  to  be  quite 
unlike  the  original  work.  And  then, 
too,  many  of  the  most  valuable  works  in 
many  private  libraries  are  largely  the 
work  of  the  owner,  the  matter  having 
been  compiled  by  him  from  various 
sources,  and  bound  together  in  one 
volume. 

The  private  library  of  Nathaniel  Paine, 
Esq.,  of  this  city,  is  made  up  to  quite  a 
large  extent  of  this  kind  of  books.  It 
numbers  some  2000  volumes,  and  is  ex- 
ceedingly rich  in  historical  and  biograph- 
ical works.  The  value  and  interest  of 
many  of  the  books  have  been  largely  in- 
creased by  additions  he  has  made  to 
them  of  portraits,  autographs,  letters, 
and  other  valuable  material  illustrative 
of  the  subjects  treated.  The  scholarly 
tastes  of  Mr.  Paine  are  well  known. 
He  is  a  prominent  member  not  only  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  but  of 
the  Worcester  Society  of  Antiquity,  and 


is  the  author  of  a  number  of  volumes 
which  are  a  material  addition  to  the  value 
of  the  libraries  of  both  societies. 

Mr.  Paine's  library  is  of  a  miscellane- 
ous nature,  though  historical  and  bio- 
graphical works  seem  to  be  favorites. 
He  has  also  gathered  together  a  large 
number  of  autographs  and  has  already 
had  two  sales  of  books,  portraits,  auto- 
graphs, engravings  and  such  like.  The 
last  one,  held  in  New  York  some  seven 
years  ago,  consisted  largely  of  auto- 
graphs and  engraved  portraits,  and  he  has 
many  still  remaining.  He  began  the  for- 
mation of  his  library  when  a  young  man, 
and  has  added  to  it  as  he  has  had  opportu- 
nity ever  since.  Some  of  the  autographs 
and  letters  of  distinguished  men  were 
given  him,  others  were  bought,  and  still 
others  obtained  by  exchange.  The  rage 
for  these  has  so  increased  within  the  last 
few  years  that  many  of  them  are  now  ex- 
ceedingly rare,  and  correspondingly  val- 
uable. Mr.  Paine  comes  naturally  by 
his  love  for  the  antique  and  historic,  his 
grandfather  and  great  uncle  being  among 
the  founders  of  the  American  Antiqua- 
rian Society. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  valua- 
ble works  of  Mr.  Paine's  collection  is 
Irving' s  Life  of  Washington.  This  edi- 


tion  was  published  in  five  volumes,  and 
110  copies  only  of  the  edition  were  print- 
ed. These  five  volumes  have  been  extend- 
ed to  ten  by  the  addition  of  portraits  of 
distinguished  men,  American  and  English, 
of  Washington's  time,  pictures  of  battles, 
autographs,  original  letters,  etc.,  includ- 
ing 60  or  70  portraits  of  Washington. 
Also  a  representation  of  the  Boston  Mas- 
sacre engraved  by  Paul  Revere  and  sold 
by  him;  this  engraving  which  repre- 
sents the  British  soldiers  in  their  red  coats 
is  very  rare.  Mr.  Paine  has  also  insert- 
ed in  the  volumes  a  large  number  of  au- 
tographs and  manuscript  letters.  Among 
them  is  a  letter  of  Gen.  Washington 
the  authenticity  of  which  is  attested  by 
Jared  Sparks  on  the  reverse  side;  auto- 
graph of  George  II. ;  autograph  letters  of 
Gov.  Shirley,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  of 
Lord  Amherst;  also  autographs  of  Lord 
North,  of  George  IV.,  of  Patrick  Henry, 
of  Gov.  Bernard,  and  Gen.  Stark;  indeed, 
the  volumes  contain  nearly  all  the  auto- 
graphs of  the  prominent  American  gen- 
erals and  officers  of  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  volumes  are  substantially 
bound  in  half  morocco.  Mr.  Paine  has 
nearly  completed  an  additional  volume 
which  will  be  enriched  with  illustrations 
of  badges,  steel  portraits,  and  with  news- 


paper  cuttings  of  an  historical  and  a  bio- 
graphical nature. 

Another  work  in  which  we  were 
greatly  interested  was  two  volumes 
entitled  Autographs  and  Portraits  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. The  contents  of  the  volumes  are 
divided  into  an  Historical  Monograph; 
History  of  the  thirteenOriginal  States  and 
Biographies  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  to  which  are  added 
their  portraits  and  autographs.  That 
there  may  he  no  doubt  in  regard  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  autographs,  Mr. 
Paine  has  inserted  fac-similes  of  them 
with  which  to  compare  the  original.  He 
has  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  the  au- 
tographs of  the  Georgia  signers,  having 
been  able  so  far  to  secure  but  one  of 
them.  Only  eleven  autographs  are  lack- 
ing, however,  out  of  the  whole  number, 
and  some  of  these  he  expects  to  obtain ; 
the  volumes  are  large,  and  hand- 
somely bound  in  Turkey  morocco. 
What  we  have  said  in  regard  to  the  two 
preceding  works  gives  but  little  idea  of 
their  historic  interest  and  value.  Hours 
could  be  spent  in  looking  over  each  one 
without  beginning  to  exhaust  its  inter- 
est. Every  autograph  and  letter  is  rich 
in  historic  association,  and  carries  one 


8 


back  in  imagination  to  the  times  that 
"tried  men's  souls." 

Mr.  Paine  has  a  way  of  enlarging  and 
greatly  enriching  his  library  as  is  seen 
by  his  method  with  Irving' s  Life  of 
Washington.  Given  a  work  whose  sub- 
ject matter  is  adapted  to  it,  he  extends 
the  number  of  volumes  indefinitely  by 
binding  in  with  the  printed  matter  auto- 
graph letters,  portraits  and  various  other 
collateral  matter  which  gives  added  in- 
terest. By  this  method  many  of  his 
books  are  sui  generis.  Their  exact  dupli- 
cates can  not  be  found  elsewhere  in  all 
the  libraries  of  the  globe.  He  has  car- 
ried this  same  principle  of  enlargement 
into  a  work  entitled  A  Biographical  His- 
tory of  the  Fine  Arts.  Published  origin- 
ally in  two  volumes,  he  has  extended  it 
to  nine,  by  adding  portraits  of  artists, 
engravers,  sculptors,  architects  etc. ;  the 
two  volumes  have  about  800  portraits  of 
artists,  of  which  only  100  were  in  the 
volumes  as  originally  published.  Many 
of  the  illustrations  which  have  been 
added  in  this  work  and  in  the  others  are 
"inlaid,"  so  that  the  illustrations  and 
leaf  together  are  the  same  thickness  as 
the  original  leaf,  thus  preventing  any 
bulging  from  extra  thickness.  Each  of 
the  nine  volumes  has  an  illuminated  title- 


page  of  different  and  unique  designs, 
made  by  the  owner. 

In  a  small  way  he  has  carried  his  prin- 
ciple into  many  other  works.  We  have 
not  space  to  much  more  than  merely 
mention  some  of  them.  Gen.  Devens's 
oration  at  the  Centennial  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  presented 
by  the  orator  to  Mr.  Paine,  only  three  cop- 
ies of  this  particular  edition  having  been 
printed.  Mr.  Paine  has  finely  illustra- 
ted it  with  portraits  of  the  men  men- 
tioned in  the  address,  so  that  the  book 
becomes  entirely  unique.  In  the  same 
way  Gen.  Devens's  oration  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Soldiers  and  Sailors'  Monu- 
ment on  Boston  Common,  three  copies 
were  specially  printed,  one  of  which  was 
presented  to  Mr.  Paine,  this  has  also  been 
illustrated,  and  the  original  notes  which 
Gen.  Devens  used  in  the  delivery  of  his 
address,  inserted. 

Mr.  Paine  has  carried  the  scrap-book 
system  to  perfection.  By  economizing 
his  spare  hours  he  has  got  together  a  set 
of  scrap-books  of  various  kinds  which  are 
invaluable.  One  of  them  treats  of  Thomas 
Bewick  and  Wood  Engraving,  taken  from 
Harper's  Magazine  and  the  Century; 
it  receives  special  interest  from  the  fact 
that  Bewick  was  the  father  of  English 


10 


wood  engraving.  Another  is  the  Circus 
and  Menagerie,  the  title-page  of  which 
is  finely  printed  by  the  pen  and  brush  of 
Mr.  Paine;  there  are  abundant  illustra- 
tions and  the  reading  matter  consists  of 
the  history  of  the  circus  taken  from  St. 
Nicholas  and  of  various  newspaper  cut- 
tings, the  whole  making  a  book 
which  would  delight  the  hearts  of  chil- 
dren, little  and  large.  We  also  saw  a 
scrap-book  relating  to  the  book  publish- 
ers of  the  country;  one  relating  to  the 
history  of  our  local  Continentals;  anoth- 
er, which  was  made  up  of  clippings  from 
the  local  papers  in  the  late  war  from 
April  1861  to  Jan.  1862,  is  of  great 
interest  as  it  relates  to  Worcester 
soldiers,  with  portraits  of  many  of 
them. 

It  is  but  a  step  from  scrap-books  to 
pamphlets.  In  these  the  library  is  very 
rich,  the  pamphlets  numbering  from  600 
to  800.  While  those  of  a  historical  and 
biographical  character  preponderate, 
many  are  of  a  miscellaneous  nature. 
The  number  relating  to  local  subjects  is 
very  large.  A  complete  set  of  Musical 
Festival  pamphlets  may  be  found  here, 
moreover,  the  contents  of  each  pamphlet 
is  available  at  once  when  desired.  Kept 
in  cases  which  are  carefully  indexed, 


11 


Mr.  Paine  knows  at  once  where  to  put 
his  hand  on  the  one  treating  on  any  giv- 
en subject.  It  may  be  added  that  many 
of  these  pamphlets  were  privately 
printed. 

Books  of  Fables  have  a  large  place 
here;  they  include  those  from  the  early 
editions  of  .ZEsop  to  the  late  editions  of 
Gay,  Bewick,  Northcote,  Dore  and  the 
American  editions  of  Stevens  and  others. 
These  works  are  profusely  illustrated  and 
make  one  of  the  features  of  the  library. 
Especially  worthy  of  mention  in  this  con- 
nection is  Stockdale's  edition  of  Robinson 
Crusoe,  2  volumes,  1790,  illustrated  by 
Strothard  and  bound  in  treecalf.  There 
are  several  editions  of  Robinson  Crusoe, 
one  dating  back  as  early  as  1720.  One 
of  the  latest  volumes  added  to  the 
library  is  a  very  handsome  large  paper 
copy  of  Gulliver's  Travels,  just  published 
by  Nimmo  of  London.  The  typograph- 
ical appearance  of  the  volume,  and  the 
excellence  of  the  180  colored  illustrations, 
and  the  many  wood-cuts,  make  it  the 
finest  edition  of  this  standard  work  yet 
published. 

Bibliomaniacs  are  quite  generally 
looked  upon  with  a  pity  akin  to  con- 
tempt. They  are  apt  to  be  placed  in  the 
same  category  with  cranks.  From  a 


12 


purely  business  point  of  view  they  are  in 
the  minds  of  many  thoroughly  impracti- 
cal. Experience,  however,  does  not 
justify  such  an  opinion.  Indeed,  it  is 
a  question  whether  there  can  be  found  a 
better  paying  investment  in  the  long  run 
than  the  judicious  purchase  of  rare  and 
valuable  books.  One  of  these  biblioma- 
niacs of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  at  the  end  of  twen- 
ty years  sold  his  collection,  and  he  stated 
that  it  produced  him  more  than  50  per 
cent,  of  their  actual  cost,  whereas  he  had 
sold  his  house  for  less  than  half  its  cost. 
Speaking  of  the  fact  he  said,  "There  has 
been  more  money  fooled  away  in  Troy 
by  many  a  man  in  the  last  twenty  years, 
in  stocks  and  horses  and  clubs  without  a 
cent  to  show  for  it  than  I  put  into  my 
books  with  $11,000  to  show  for  them, 
after  using  them  all  these  years."  Not 
every  man  is  qualified  to  buy  books  any 
more  than  every  man  is  qualified  to 
judge  of  a  good  horse.  But  he  who  buys 
his  books  with  good  judgment,  not  only 
has  in  them  pleasant  companions  and 
valuable  resources,  but  has  likewise  a 
safe  moneyed  investment.  How  much 
Mr.  Paine's  books  have  cost  him,  we  do 
not  know,  but  we  do  know  that  he  finds 
in  them  a  delightful  companionship,  and 
that  as  an  investment  he  could  probably 


13 


as  a  banker  point  out  many  a  man  walk- 
ing the  streets  of  Worcester  whose  in- 
vestments in  stocks  and  even  real  estate 
can  not  begin  to  make  so  good  an  ex- 
hibit as  his,  from  a  purely  pecuniary 
standpoint. 

As  we  have  stated,  historical  and  bio- 
graphical works  are  predominant. 
There  are  several  lives  of  Washington,  as 
Sparks's,  Bancroft's  and  others;  some  50 
volumes  containing  eulogies  of  Wash- 
ington by  various  writers;  Lossing's  Mt. 
Vernon  and  its  Associations  with  extra 
illustrations.  Among  others  of  these 
works  are  five  scrap-books  of  Revolution- 
ary sketches  made  up  from  magazine  arti- 
cles and  illustrated ;  History  of  the  Amer- 
ican Flag  published  as  one  volume  and  ex- 
tended to  two,  having  a  fragment  of  the 
flag  of  Fort  McHenry  on  which  was  com- 
posed the  song  "Star  Spangled  Banner;" 
a  complete  set  of  the  orations  on  the 
Boston  Massacre,  1771-83,  very  rare;  lives 
of  many  of  the  Revolutionary  generals 
with  their  autographs ;  a  large  collection 
of  works  relating  to  Lexington,  Concord 
and  Bunker  Hill.  In  one  of  the  works 
on  Lexington  is  a  manuscript  in  which 
is  set  forth  in  detail  the  damages 
sustained  by  a  citizen  of  Lexington  from 
the  British  troops,  amounting  to  145 


14 


pounds  English  money.  The  document 
is  dated  1782,  and  among  the  things  dam- 
aged are  five  fine  shirts,  blue  serge  coat 
and  jacket,  several  penknives  and  sleeve- 
buttons,  one  pound  and  four  shillings 
worth  of  rum  and  molasses  wasted,  beef 
and  cheese  carried  away,  teapot  and  por- 
angers  damaged  etc.  The  man  evidently 
kept  a  store,  and  the  red-coats  made 
themselves  free  and  easy  with  his  stock 
of  goods.  An  interesting  reminder  of 
the  late  civil  war  is  an  extra  of  the 
Charleston  Mercury,  1860,  advocating  the 
dissolution  of  the  union,  which  Mr.  Paine 
received  from  the  south  soon  after  it 
was  issued,  and  has  used  it  as  one  of 
the  extra  illustrations  to  Lossing's  His- 
tory of  the  Civil  War.  A  complete  set 
of  the  "  Proceedings"  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society  illustrated  by  many 
portraits  of  members  who  have  read 
papers  before  the  Society  is  here.  Com- 
plete sets  are  exceedingly  difficult* to 
obtain;  probably  the  number  of  them 
could  be  counted  on  one's  fingers.  We 
noticed  a  complete  set  of  the  Magazine 
of  American  History  and  also  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Magazine,  both  adding  to 
the  historical  treasures  of  the  collection. 
We  should  not  fail  to  add  to  these  the 
first  edition  of  Bancroft's  History  of  the 


15 


United  States,  the  value  of  which  has  been 
greatly  increased  by  the  addition  of  vari- 
ous portraits  and  views.  Another  curi- 
ous book  is  one  entitled  "  Antique  Views 
of  the  Town  of  Boston,"  a  quarto  volume, 
one  of  the  covers  of  which  has  upon  the 
outside  a  piece  of  wood  taken  from  the 
old  elm  on  Boston  Common,  with  a  pic- 
ture of  the  tree,  and  a  letter  from  the 
Mayor  of  Boston  in  regard  to  it  printed 
upon  it. 

We  should  not  fail  to  mention  the  large 
series  of  bibliographical  works  to  be  found 
in  the  library.  A  thick  8vo  vol.  with  the 
title  "Bibliographical  Notes"  contains 
newspaper  cuttings  relating  to  rare  and 
curious  books,  private  libraries,  book 
sales,  early  editions  and  bibliographical 
matter  generally.  The  library  contains 
also  Sabin's  Bibliopolist  complete,  and 
several  volumes  relating  to  libraries  and 
book  collecting. 

Comic  works  are  also  represented  in  a 
goodly  number.  Prominent  among  these 
are  two  volumes  made  up  from  Thack- 
eray's and  other  writers'  notices  of 
Cruikshank,  illustrated  with  a  large 
number  of  portraits,  engravings  by  the 
famous  caricaturist,  also  a  fine  autograph 
letter  of  Cruikshank.  The  works  of  John 
Leach,  Du  Maurier  and  Thomas  Nast 


16 


are  also  represented  in  the  library. 
The  collection  of  the  latter  contains  the 
Tweed  caricatures  mounted  on  separate 
sheets.  There  are  also  books  on  giants, 
dwarfs,  monstrosities,  the  reading  mat- 
ter of  which  has  been  culled  from  news- 
papers and  magazines,  and  illustrated, 
making  them,  we  venture  to  say,  unlike 
any  other  books  to  be  found  anywhere. 

While  Mr.  Paine  has  not  gone  very 
largely  into  the  collection  of  the  oldest 
books,  yet  he  has  secured  quite  a  number, 
printed  from  one  to  three  hundred  years 
ago.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
various  rare  almanacs,  as  Weatherwise's 
1781,  Stearns's  Almanac  1776,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, printed  by  Isaiah  Thomas  at  Wor- 
cester, and  Low's  Almanac  1777, 
containing  a  map  of  the  seat  of  war  in 
New  York;  Isaiah  Thomas's  T/>y  Books 
of  100  years  ago,  with  curious  and  crude 
wood-cuts,  and  side  by  side  with  them, 
by  way  of  contrast,  are  the  magnifi- 
cent toy  books  of  to-day,  of  Stevens, 
Crane  and  Caldecott;  several  quaint 
works  of  Cotton  and  of  Increase  Mather, 
all  of  which  are  now  rare ;  a  f ac-simile  of 
the  first  edition  of  Pilgrim's  Progress; 
fragments  of  a  book  printed  in  1497  in 
Strasbourg,  having  curious  wood-cuts; 


17 


the  first  folio  edition  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment printed  in  Worcester  and  in  this 
country,  by  Isaiah  Thomas,  1791;  a  large 
number  of  books  on  the  drama  and  act- 
ors, many  of  which  have  extra  illus- 
trations; a  number  of  New  England 
primers;  British  and  American  almanacs; 
Alexander  Barclay's  translation  of 
Brandt's  Ship  of  Fools,  a  German  satire, 
published  in  1494,  with  fac-similes  of  the 
curious  wood-cuts  in  the  edition  of  1497, 
being  the  Edinburgh  edition  of  1874, 
bound  in  full  treecalf. 

There  are  a  number  of  noteworthy 
books  of  a  miscellaneous  nature  of  which 
space  compels  us  to  give  only  a  brief 
notice.  One  is  the  history  of  wood  en- 
graving in  America  by  W.  J.  Linton, 
the  eminent  wood  engraver,  of  which  only 
a  limited  edition  was  printed,  to  which 
extra  illustrations  have  been  added  by 
Mr.  Paine,  also  an  autograph  letter  of  the 
author.  The  first  book  printed  in  Wor- 
cester, containing  a  narrative  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  and  published  by  Isaiah 
Thomas  after  he  left  Boston  and  came  to 
Worcester.  A  fine  uncut  copy  of  the  1st 
edition  of  Thomas's  History  of  Printing, 
illustrated  with  portraits,  autographs, 
copies  of  early  newspapers,  etc.  Arctic 
Explorations,  such  as  Sir  Edward  Belcher 
2 


18 


and  Markham  among  the  English,  and 
Kane,  Hayes,  Hall,  Gilder  and  the  Jean- 
ne tie  Expeditions  among  the  American; 
Alden's  Epitaphs,  New  York  1814;  four 
volumes  of  photographs  of  Madonnas 
and  Holy  Families,  making  an  interesting 
and  valuable  work.  Among  the  stan- 
dard works  in  the  collection  may  be 
mentioned  two  or  three  editions  of 
Shakespeare;  one  is  the  scarce  eight- 
volume  edition  published  by  Philips, 
Sampson  &  Co.,  Boston,  1850-51,  long 
since  out  of  print;  Halliwell's  in  three 
volumes  with  portraits  of  actors  in  cos- 
tume; Harvard  Memorial  biographies  of 
those  who  served  in  the  war,  2  vols.with 
inserted  portraits ;  Keynard  the  Fox,  illus- 
trated by  Joseph  Wolf  and  Kaulbach, 
bound  in  full  morocco;'  Famous  Paint- 
ers, finely  illustrated;  a  fac-simile 
of  the  first  edition  of  Walton's 
"Complete  Angler;"  and  a  fac-simile  of 
the  first  edition  of  Goody  Two  Shoes, 
1766;  the  Life  of  Prescott,  quarto  edition, 
Ticknor's  Life  and  Letters,  Letters  of  J. 
T.  Field,  all  of  them  enriched  by  auto- 
graphs of  the  subjects  and  by  the  addi- 
tion of  illustrations;  very  fine  editions 
of  Thackeray  and  of  Dickens,  and  many 
of  the  standard  novelists.  The  list  might 
be  indefinitely  extended,  but  these  we 


19 


have  mentioned  will  give  a  good  idea  of 
some  of  the  curious  books  in  the  library. 
There  is  a  collection  of  priced  catalogues 
of  auction  sales  of  prominent  libraries  in 
this  country  and  Europe.  It  is  almost 
unnecessary  to  add  that  the  standard 
works  of  various  kinds  which  are  usu- 
ally found  in  private  libraries  may  be 
seen  here. 

Mr.  Paine' s  library,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, is  well  stocked  with  works  relat- 
ing to  local  history.  He  has  a  complete 
set  of  Worcester  directories,  among  the 
number  the  first  directory,  1828,  having 
only  two  leaves,  also  that  of  1829,  these 
have  been  bound  together  and  enlarged 
by  the  insertion  of  various  illustrations, 
many  of  them  consisting  of  the  portraits 
of  old  citizens,  with  a  rare  map  of  the 
town ;  a  full  set  of  the  city  documents ; 
a  manuscript  sermon  preached  in  1749, 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Maccarty,  settled  over  the 
Old  South;  Random  Recollections  of 
Worcester,  1839-43  with  letters  and  va- 
rious documents;  Lincoln's  History  of 
Worcester,  a  presentation  copy  by  the 
author  to  Mr.  Paine' s  grandfather  and 
extended  by  Mr.  Paine  by  the  insertion  of 
illustrations,  also  another  set  interleaved 
for  corrections  and  additions ;  a  full  his- 
tory of  the  local  Centennial  celebration 


20 


in  1876,  comprising  all  the  documents 
that  relate  thereto,  and  also  a  like  col- 
lection of  all  documents  relating  to  the  Bi- 
centennial celebration  of  1884.  We  have 
mentioned  only  a  few  of  the  more  promi- 
nent of  his  works  on  local  history,  but 
these  will  serve  as  samples.  We  will 
only  add  that  among  his  local  literature, 
the  articles  that  have  appeared  in  the 
HOME  JOURNAL  relating  to  Worcester 
history  have  been  preserved  in  scrap 
book  form. 

Mr.  Paine  is  not  simply  a  collector  of 
books,  but  an  author  as  well,  we  do  not 
refer  to  the  books  he  has  made  by  addi- 
tions and  extensions,  but  to  books  he  has 
written  or  compiled.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  the  fact  that  he  has  contribut- 
ed works  of  substantial  merit  to  theAmer- 
ican  Antiquarian  Society  and  to  the  So- 
ciety of  Antiquity.  Some  twelve  or  four- 
teen volumes  of  his  works  may  be  seen 
on  his  shelves.  These  works  are  largely 
local,  relating  to  the  history  of  Worces- 
ter. Mr.  Paine  in  his  spare  hours  has 
'devoted  not  a  little  time  in  investigat- 
ing facts  of  interest  bearing  upon  the 
past  history  of  our  city,  and  these  facts 
he  has  embodied  in  these  volumes. 
Prominent  among  these  is  one  read  be- 
fore the  Society  of  Antiquity  entitled 


21 


Random  Recollections  of  Worcester.  It 
is  a  private  edition  of  which  only  fifty 
copies  were  printed.  It  has  been  en- 
larged into  a  thick  octavo  and  illustrated 
with  portraits,  views  of  Worcester,  maps 
and  newspaper  cuttings.  He  is  also 
author  of  a  valuable  work  on  the  "Ear- 
ly Paper  Currency  of  Massachusetts." 
His  own  volume  of  which  receives  added 
interest  from  containing  samples  of  early 
bills,  modern  currency,  portraits  and 
other  appropriate  illustrations. 

Apropos  to  works  on  currency,  Mr. 
Paine  has  collected  in  a  volume  samples 
of  the  fractional  currency  of  the  United 
States,  the  Massachusetts  currency  of 
1722,  the  fractional  currency  during  the 
period  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  the 
war  of  1812.  It  includes  a  complete  set  of 
the  late  United  States  fractional  currency, 
and  many  of  the  various  paper  substitutes 
for  silver  at  the  time  of  the  civil  war,  in 
addition  to  these  are  samples  of  bills,  na- 
tional, state,  and  Confederate.  In  another 
work  he  has  a  list  of  the  Colonial  and 
Continental  money,  published  in  Phila- 
delphia, enlarged  by  the  addition  of 
numerous  samples  of  the  bills  treated  of, 
most  of  which  are  genuine  bills,  with 
fac-similes  of  some  of  the  rarer  ones. 

Speaking  of  currency  reminds  us  nat- 


22 


urally  of  coins,  of  which  Mr.  Paine  has 
quite  a  collection.  He  sold  a  collection 
several  years  ago,  disposing  of  them  at 
a  good  profit  when  the  fever  for  them 
was  at  its  highest.  His  collection  now 
consists  mostly  of  medals,  with  a  few 
coins  which  are  largely  proof  sets  of  U.  S. 
silver  and  smaller  coins,  and  were  not  is- 
sued for  general  circulation.  Among  the 
medals  are  a  number  which  have  special 
interest  from  their  local  character ;  such 
as  the  Gov.  John  Davis  medal,  the 
Isaac  Davis  bronze  medal,  the  Quinsiga- 
mond  regatta  medal  in  bronze,  struck  by 
the  citizens  of  Worcester  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  regatta  of  1866,  also  the 
bronze  medal  issued  by  the  Worcester 
Continentals  at  the  time  of  their  great 
fair.  He  has  also  a  collection  of  some 
2000  postage  stamps;  mostly  made  several 
years  ago  when  the  collecting  of  them 
was  one  of  his  hobbies.  These  stamps 
are  for  the  most  part  uncancelled,  and 
mounted  on  fine  quarto  sheets,  illustrat- 
ed by  the  coat  of  arms  of  different  coun- 
tries. 

Mr.  Paine' s  library,  as  one  can  readily 
see,  is  the  farthest  remove  from  regula- 
tion books ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  vol- 
umes have  been  enriched  with  portraits, 
autographs  and  biographical  notices  of 


the  authors,  as  also  newspaper  cuttings 
with  notices  of  the  books  or  some  kin- 
dred information.  Not  unfrequently 
these  additions  are  as  valuable  as  the 
original  matter,  and  far  more  difficult  to 
obtain.  The  library  becomes  thus  not 
only  unique,  but  extremely  valuable  be- 
cause of  the  wonderfully  full  and  varied 
information  it  contains.  Mr.  Paine  as 
cashier  of  one  of  our  city  banks  is  a  busy 
man,  and  this  work  on  his  books  has 
been  done  in  the  few  leisure  moments 
he  could  snatch  from  time  to  time  out- 
side of  business  hours.  The  fact  that 
he  has  done  so  much  himself  to  enrich 
his  books  renders  them  far  more  inter- 
esting, and  will  give  them  an  additional 
value  to  any  one  in  whose  hands  they 
may  happen  to  come  in  the  future. 

One  can  hardly  iflok  anywhere  in  the 
house  without  being  reminded  of  the 
owner's  love  of  books,  They  are  scat- 
tered through  every  room  from  parlor  to 
attic  in  delightful  profusion.  They  are 
found  in  glass  cases,  on  open  shelves,  ly- 
ing on  tables  and  in  all  sorts  of  nooks 
and  corners.  At  hand  near  his  desk  are 
encyclopaedias,  biographical  dictionaries 
and  other  books  of  reference.  Mr.  Paine 
usually  keeps  several  uncompleted  books 
on  hand,  adding  now  to  one  and  now 


24 


to  another  as  he  obtains  the  desired 
portrait,  autograph  or  newspaper  cut- 
ting. Very  much  of  his  time,  out  of 
business  hours,  is  spent  in  this  way 
among  his  books,  and  that  he  finds  not  a 
little  enjoyment  in  it  goes  without  say- 
ing. 

While  Mr.  Paine  has  not  many  volumes 
bound  by  the  celebrities  in  the  art,  yet 
they  are  mostly  in  a  substantial  binding 
presenting  an  attractive  appearance  to 
the  eye.  Though  doubtless  handled 
quite  a  good  deal,  their  neat,  tidy  ap- 
pearance shows  that  they  are  never 
abused.  To  keep  books  nicely  is  an  art; 
and  the  books  of  this  library  give  evi- 
dence that  their  owner  has  well  learned 
the  art.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  most  de- 
lightful as  well  as  valuable  collection  of 
books,  telling  in  silent  but  expressive 
language  of  the  industry,  judgment  and 
taste  of  the  owner. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
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